As always, thanks for the advice....

When I ordered car, I got them to take off about $3K....do you think they'd do more than that?

 

Depends where the 3k came from. I assume it included whatever incentive was in play at the time you made the deal. If there is a better one available at the time you take delivery, demand that they apply the difference to the deal (the manufacturer incentives are yours, not the dealers).

 

Thanks for this info!

 

What "they" (the dealer) takes off of MSRP is important. That should be viewed as separate from any "customer cash" or other incentive offered by MINI USA.

So, for example, if the MSRP is $36,000 and the dealer offers a $3,000 dealer discount, and then there's a $1,000 MINI USA customer cash offer, you are looking at a TOTAL DISCOUNT from MSRP of $3,000 + $1,000, or $4,000.

Very important to go over all of this carefully with the dealer at time of delivery.

Remember, they want to get that car out of their inventory and into your possession even more than you do!! So your maximum leverage is at that moment before you officially sign the paperwork and take delivery.

They will act as if it's your car when you show up for your first look at it -- your attitude is you are showing up for a blind date. Up until that moment, all you've seen are pictures of your prospective date. You ain't gettin' married until you've gone for the test drive, checked the car to confirm it's been prepped to your satisfaction, and, most important, that the final deal is where you need it to be, whatever numbers will work for you. And the final deal needs to be "as good or better" than what you would have accepted the day you ordered the car. IMHO.

Exciting, but also business.

 

Got it, coach!

Thanks!

 

That is good to know.....I always assumed it was from their inventory (sitting on the lot for sale)

 

WOOHOO!!! An EXTRA $500 off this month, so total of $2000!

 

Christmas in July.

 

Most excellent!!!. That is a substantial savings.

 

It is possible depending on how much profit they are willing to forgo. They have more wiggle room on price than they are willing to admit to. Also many dealerships have fee or document processing that are all pure profit that have nothing to do with the car (that's a story for another day). As long as you get the discount you want, it doesn't matter where the shave that money off. Any incentives from the manufacturer do not impact the dealership profits. FWIW, I'm always fair w/ any deal I bring to the table and leave enough "meat on the bone" to satisfy all but the greediest of dealerships.

A final thought on any deal you make....as long as you are happy with the final deal and the seller is happy too, it's a good deal. It is always wise to keep the details of any deal between you and the seller.

 

 

And... for those of you who have taken delivery with slightly lower incentives than currently available, remember, we drive the cars, not the deals. Enjoy your rides.

I put a LOT of energy into doing my deals and, over the decades, I've ground out quite a few. Some deals have been exceptional, some just good enough. In every instance, I soon forgot about the deal and just enjoyed the cars, because, when you get the car you want, it's a beautiful thing.

 

Amen brother!

 

Yup, which doubles my total discount.

 

My sales person had told me about a week ago my car would arrive at dealer yesterday.....

As she's off on Mon/Tues, I called the MINI customer number and was told my car was leaving the VPC today on the truck.....with ETA to dealer this Friday, 7/12....

I had hoped that car would arrive today and I'd pick it up by Thurs - Fri this week.....Oh well.....

So, now I'm guessing I'll have car next week, maybe Wed or Thurs.....hopefully........

Oh well....guess I can wait bit longer...




Meanwhile, I need to get my ol' '04 RSX cleaned up...planning to trader her in, if they give me a halfway reasonable offer.....thinking maybe $1 - 1.5K.....car looks pretty good and drives well, but it now has 218.5K miles on it.....

 

Mine is arriving later than expected too.
Came into the Brunswick, Georgia port on Friday. Still has to make its way to Texas.

 

Mine arrived in Maryland on June 28th. They told me it will be here at my dealership in Ohio this week, which is earlier than they had originally told me (July 26th). I hope they are correct. I have no idea how long it takes to truck a car from Maryland to Columbus Ohio.

 

Maybe it's partially due to people taking summer vacations and the recent 4th holiday......just guessing.....


I would guess 3 - 4 days, depending upon how many delivery stops and the route needed to make them....

 

You might be able to get it on Friday and almost certainly on Saturday. I originally was under the impression that my car arrived on a Wednesday afternoon but it turns out it was delivered to the dealer first thing on a Thursday morning. I took delivery that evening.

 

Thanks for the encouraging words!

 

Yeah guys, Sorry to hear of the delays...so close but yet so far away. I do know that the transports leaving the VPC do not go without a full load, so often-times your car will be assigned and released to the shipper, but doesn't depart until the transport is full. Again, there may be stops in between the VPC and your destination as any dealership between the VPC and your dealership may have a car onboard, resulting in detours and extra stops.

Once the car hits your dealership, they will work quickly to get it prepped and ready for pick-up.

We are enjoying ours and our automatic wipers are getting quite a work-out lately. 6+ inches of rain yesterday

 

I think now that the holiday week is behind us you should see your car sooner rather than later. It will be worth the wait!

As to your trade, well, you might stop by CarMax just to see what, if anything, they will calculate as a value for your RSX. But, face it, the only dealer interested in buying that car is one of those buy here/pay here beater lots. I'm sure there are a few in the greater San Jose area. You might even make a few phone calls just to test the waters. If the MINI dealer gives you anything, it will be as a courtesy. But it's either going to the wholesale auction or the used car person at your MINI dealer is gonna call SlimJim from Beater Auto Sales to come and get it. I got lucky one time on a trade -- one of the mechanics working at the dealer where I bought a new Jeep wanted my Mazda for his daughter, so I got a few hundred more than planned. Just depends on the value of your time and your spirit of adventure. But I definitely wouldn't try to sell it to a private party myself. Not the kind of customers I'd want to take for test drives

 

Then there was the time the GMC dealer where I bought a new truck told me I could probably get $1,000 more than he would give me for my Honda Accord wagon trade. He said I could meet prospective buyers at his dealership so I didn't have to worry about strangers at my home or workplace. I met the prospect at the GMC dealer, we did a walk around and a quick test drive and the guy said he wanted the car. Sure enough, I was $1,000 ahead.... until I decided I needed to demonstrate the alarm for him. I set the alarm, then wacked the pillar next to the windshield to demonstrate how the shock sensor would trigger the alarm. Only problem was the heel of my hand caught the corner of the windshield and cracked it. Sooo I ended up with $500 more than the dealer would have given me, and I had to go into the showroom and get laughed at for awhile. Oh, and about a month later I got a notice that "my" Honda got a ticket for using the Fastrack lane without paying and had to go to the DMV to show proof of change of ownership. Thereafter, whatever the dealer offers me has felt like gravy to me. A man's gotta know his limitations.

 

Makes sense......thanks!

Wow! 6" of rain....sounds like monsoon season....


Thank you for all the great suggestions....certainly understand that I wouldn't get much from dealer and it's more of a courtesy deal...it's a quasi auto row on the street where dealer is...several used car lots in the vicinity...so, if dealer offer is too low, I can check them out....agree, I don't want to sell myself, partly for the security reasons as well as fact that I'm too busy at work to take the time to deal with it. In the end, I'll take what I can get and be happy....

That's quite the story...ouch.....that reminds me to immediately send or do online, the DMV Release of Liability form. My understanding is as soon as DMV has it, you're off the hook from then on.

 

Yup. In the story I related above, I filed the paperwork at the time I signed over title. The guy got the ticket that same afternoon, but the DMV honored my claim that it wasn't me because, evidently, the time stamp of the change of ownership confirmed that the ticket happened after I relinquished ownership. In those days, it was required that I appear at the DMV to clear it up. Early days of data systems. But the date stamp set me free!!